www.amazon.com.au
Open in
urlscan Pro
2600:9000:2250:6000:1b:c70b:6193:6b61
Public Scan
Submitted URL: http://link.mail.beehiiv.com/ss/c/yiONRMacLL-aSs_yJk8BDZO1zAHrQoYqsYmV1CS-fyXxwZgWthA63R2VunsnDUqVZldW6QsQNkSVbX1sqlz5q1FciGQ...
Effective URL: https://www.amazon.com.au/Box-Shipping-Container-Smaller-Economy/dp/0691136408?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=incodocs-22&linkCode=ur...
Submission: On September 27 via api from US — Scanned from DE
Effective URL: https://www.amazon.com.au/Box-Shipping-Container-Smaller-Economy/dp/0691136408?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=incodocs-22&linkCode=ur...
Submission: On September 27 via api from US — Scanned from DE
Form analysis 6 forms found in the DOM
Name: site-search — GET /s/ref=nb_sb_noss
<form id="nav-search-bar-form" accept-charset="utf-8" action="/s/ref=nb_sb_noss" class="nav-searchbar nav-progressive-attribute" method="GET" name="site-search" role="search">
<div class="nav-left">
<div id="nav-search-dropdown-card">
<div class="nav-search-scope nav-sprite">
<div class="nav-search-facade" data-value="search-alias=aps">
<span id="nav-search-label-id" class="nav-search-label nav-progressive-content" style="width: auto;">Books</span>
<i class="nav-icon"></i>
</div>
<label id="searchDropdownDescription" for="searchDropdownBox" class="nav-progressive-attribute" style="display:none">Select the department you want to search in</label>
<select aria-describedby="searchDropdownDescription" class="nav-search-dropdown searchSelect nav-progressive-attrubute nav-progressive-search-dropdown" data-nav-digest="j16vvnVu6gYw9CwM+tJgqLfC0Qo=" data-nav-selected="10"
id="searchDropdownBox" name="url" style="display: block; top: 2.5px;" tabindex="0" title="Search in">
<option value="search-alias=aps">All Departments</option>
<option value="search-alias=alexa-skills">Alexa Skills</option>
<option value="search-alias=amazon-devices">Amazon Devices</option>
<option value="search-alias=amazon-global-store">Amazon Global Store</option>
<option value="search-alias=warehouse-deals">Amazon Warehouse</option>
<option value="search-alias=mobile-apps">Apps & Games</option>
<option value="search-alias=audible">Audible Audiobooks</option>
<option value="search-alias=automotive">Automotive</option>
<option value="search-alias=baby">Baby</option>
<option value="search-alias=beauty">Beauty</option>
<option selected="selected" current="parent" value="search-alias=stripbooks">Books</option>
<option value="search-alias=popular">CDs & Vinyl</option>
<option value="search-alias=fashion">Clothing, Shoes & Accessories</option>
<option value="search-alias=fashion-womens"> Women</option>
<option value="search-alias=fashion-mens"> Men</option>
<option value="search-alias=fashion-girls"> Girls</option>
<option value="search-alias=fashion-boys"> Boys</option>
<option value="search-alias=fashion-baby"> Baby</option>
<option value="search-alias=computers">Computer & Accessories</option>
<option value="search-alias=electronics">Electronics</option>
<option value="search-alias=garden">Garden</option>
<option value="search-alias=gift-cards">Gift Cards</option>
<option value="search-alias=hpc">Health, Household & Personal Care</option>
<option value="search-alias=home">Home</option>
<option value="search-alias=home-improvement">Home Improvement</option>
<option value="search-alias=digital-text">Kindle Store</option>
<option value="search-alias=kitchen">Kitchen & Dining</option>
<option value="search-alias=fashion-luggage">Luggage & Travel Gear</option>
<option value="search-alias=movies-tv">Movies & TV</option>
<option value="search-alias=mi">Musical Instruments</option>
<option value="search-alias=grocery">Pantry Food & Drinks</option>
<option value="search-alias=pets">Pet Supplies</option>
<option value="search-alias=luxury-beauty">Premium Beauty</option>
<option value="search-alias=instant-video">Prime Video</option>
<option value="search-alias=software">Software</option>
<option value="search-alias=sporting">Sports, Fitness & Outdoors</option>
<option value="search-alias=office-products">Stationery & Office Products</option>
<option value="search-alias=specialty-aps-sns">Subscribe & Save</option>
<option value="search-alias=toys">Toys & Games</option>
<option value="search-alias=videogames">Video Games</option>
<option value="search-alias=alcohol">Wine, Beer & Spirits</option>
</select>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="nav-fill">
<div class="nav-search-field ">
<label for="twotabsearchtextbox" style="display: none;">Search Amazon.com.au</label>
<input type="text" id="twotabsearchtextbox" value="" name="field-keywords" autocomplete="off" placeholder="Search Amazon.com.au" class="nav-input nav-progressive-attribute" dir="auto" tabindex="0" aria-label="Search Amazon.com.au"
spellcheck="false">
</div>
<div id="nav-iss-attach"></div>
</div>
<div class="nav-right">
<div class="nav-search-submit nav-sprite">
<span id="nav-search-submit-text" class="nav-search-submit-text nav-sprite nav-progressive-attribute" aria-label="Go">
<input id="nav-search-submit-button" type="submit" class="nav-input nav-progressive-attribute" value="Go" tabindex="0">
</span>
</div>
</div>
</form>POST /gp/product/handle-buy-box/ref=dp_start-bbf_1_glance
<form method="post" id="addToCart" action="/gp/product/handle-buy-box/ref=dp_start-bbf_1_glance" class="a-content" autocomplete="off">
<input type="hidden" name="CSRF" value="g57o2C4QqTkhYFPslNyaTY0dHO2p99UQTOVbI/e3k0NRAAAADAAAAABlFLhmcmF3AAAAABVX8CwXqz4nuL9RKX///w=="> <input type="hidden" id="anti-csrftoken-a2z" name="anti-csrftoken-a2z"
value="gypHOblcBS9dWnUkk4r5fF63QssDEoBr20HWIsH3Ob8kAAAADAAAAABlFLhmcmF3AAAAABVX8CwXqz4nuL9RKf///w==">
<input type="hidden" id="offerListingID" name="offerListingID" value="">
<input type="hidden" id="session-id" name="session-id" value="357-8890848-7461408">
<input type="hidden" id="ASIN" name="ASIN" value="0691136408">
<input type="hidden" id="isMerchantExclusive" name="isMerchantExclusive" value="0">
<input type="hidden" id="merchantID" name="merchantID" value="">
<input type="hidden" id="isAddon" name="isAddon" value="0">
<input type="hidden" id="nodeID" name="nodeID" value="">
<input type="hidden" id="sellingCustomerID" name="sellingCustomerID" value="">
<input type="hidden" id="qid" name="qid" value="">
<input type="hidden" id="sr" name="sr" value="">
<input type="hidden" id="storeID" name="storeID" value="">
<input type="hidden" id="tagActionCode" name="tagActionCode" value="">
<input type="hidden" id="viewID" name="viewID" value="glance">
<input type="hidden" id="rebateId" name="rebateId" value="">
<input type="hidden" id="ctaDeviceType" name="ctaDeviceType" value="desktop">
<input type="hidden" id="ctaPageType" name="ctaPageType" value="detail">
<input type="hidden" id="usePrimeHandler" name="usePrimeHandler" value="0">
<input type="hidden" id="smokeTestEnabled" name="smokeTestEnabled" value="true">
<input type="hidden" id="rsid" name="rsid" value="357-8890848-7461408">
<input type="hidden" id="sourceCustomerOrgListID" name="sourceCustomerOrgListID" value="">
<input type="hidden" id="sourceCustomerOrgListItemID" name="sourceCustomerOrgListItemID" value="">
<input type="hidden" name="wlPopCommand" value="">
<div id="outOfStock" class="a-box">
<div class="a-box-inner">
<div class="a-section a-spacing-small a-text-center"> <span class="a-color-price a-text-bold">Currently unavailable.</span> <br>We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock. <span class="a-declarative"
data-action="dpContextualIngressPt" data-csa-c-type="widget" data-csa-c-func-deps="aui-da-dpContextualIngressPt" data-dpcontextualingresspt="{}" data-csa-c-id="7dzo57-m9leeg-vql65t-w0wual"> <a class="a-link-normal" href="#"> <div class="a-row a-spacing-small"> <div class="a-column a-span12 a-text-left"> <div id="contextualIngressPt">
<div id="contextualIngressPtPin"></div>
<span id="contextualIngressPtLabel" class="cip-a-size-small">
<div id="contextualIngressPtLabel_deliveryShortLine"><span>Deliver to </span><span>Germany</span></div>
</span>
</div>
</div> </div> </a> </span> </div>
<hr aria-hidden="true" class="a-spacing-base a-divider-normal">
<script>
function atwlEarlyClick(e) {
e.preventDefault();
if (window.atwlLoaded) {
return; //if JS is loaded then we can ignore the early click case
}
var ADD_TO_LIST_FROM_DETAIL_PAGE_VENDOR_ID = "website.wishlist.detail.add.earlyclick";
var paramMap = {
"asin": "0691136408",
"vendorId": ADD_TO_LIST_FROM_DETAIL_PAGE_VENDOR_ID,
"isAjax": "false"
}
var url = "/hz/wishlist/additemtolist?ie=UTF8";
for (var param in paramMap) {
url += "&" + param + "=" + paramMap[param];
}
var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
xhr.open("POST", url, false);
xhr.setRequestHeader("anti-csrftoken-a2z", "g9LmzyFpWZ0MeZ8YUWvZcXcg1uxYnfHfij/2LAJZkHRzAAAAAQAAAABlFLhmcmF3AAAAAHuL9oHQYR32uqP6iUf8pA==");
xhr.onload = function() {
window.location = xhr.responseURL; //Needed to force a redirect; not supported on IE!
}
xhr.send();
}
</script>
<div id="wishlistButtonStack" class="a-button-stack">
<script>
'use strict';
P.when('A').execute(function(A) {
A.declarative('atwlDropdownClickDeclarative', 'click', function(e) {
window.wlArrowEv = e;
e.$event.preventDefault();
(function() {
if (window.P && window.atwlLoaded) {
window.P.when('A').execute(function(A) {
A.trigger('wl-drop-down', window.wlArrowEv);
})
return;
}
window.atwlEc = true;
var b = document.getElementById('add-to-wishlist-button-group');
var s = document.getElementById('atwl-dd-spinner-holder');
if (!(s && b)) {
return;
}
s.classList.remove('a-hidden');
s.style.position = 'absolute';
s.style.width = b.clientWidth + 'px';
s.style.zIndex = 1;
return;
})();
return false;
});
});
</script>
<div id="add-to-wishlist-button-group" data-csa-c-func-deps="aui-da-a-button-group" data-csa-c-type="widget" data-csa-interaction-events="click" data-hover="<!-- If PartialItemStateWeblab is true then, showing different Add-to-wish-list tool-tip message which is consistent with Add-to-Cart tool tip message. -->
To Add to Wish List, choose from options to the left" class="a-button-group a-declarative a-spacing-none" data-action="a-button-group" role="radiogroup" data-csa-c-id="c00m6s-z2a3ws-piwz6l-vahl0q"> <span id="wishListMainButton"
class="a-button a-button-groupfirst a-spacing-none a-button-base a-declarative" role="radio" data-action="add-wishlist-declarative" aria-posinset="1" aria-setsize="1"><span class="a-button-inner"><a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/ap/signin?openid.return_to=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com.au%2Fgp%2Faw%2Fd%2F0691136408&openid.identity=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fauth%2F2.0%2Fidentifier_select&openid.assoc_handle=auflex&openid.mode=checkid_setup&openid.claimed_id=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fauth%2F2.0%2Fidentifier_select&openid.ns=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fauth%2F2.0&" name="submit.add-to-registry.wishlist.unrecognized" title="Add to Wish List" data-hover="<!-- If PartialItemStateWeblab is true then, showing different Add-to-wish-list tool-tip message which is consistent with Add-to-Cart tool tip message. -->
To Add to Wish List, choose from options to the left" class="a-button-text a-text-left"> Add to Wish List </a></span></span> </div>
<div id="atwl-inline-spinner" class="a-section a-hidden">
<div class="a-spinner-wrapper"><span class="a-spinner a-spinner-medium"></span></div>
</div>
<div id="atwl-inline" class="a-section a-spacing-none a-hidden">
<div class="a-row a-text-ellipsis">
<div id="atwl-inline-sucess-msg" class="a-box a-alert-inline a-alert-inline-success" aria-live="polite" aria-atomic="true">
<div class="a-box-inner a-alert-container"><i class="a-icon a-icon-alert"></i>
<div class="a-alert-content"> <span class="a-size-base" role="alert"> Added to </span> </div>
</div>
</div> <a id="atwl-inline-link" class="a-link-normal" href="/gp/registry/wishlist/"> <span id="atwl-inline-link-text" class="a-size-base" role="alert"> </span> </a>
</div>
</div>
<div id="atwl-inline-error" class="a-section a-hidden">
<div class="a-box a-alert-inline a-alert-inline-error" role="alert">
<div class="a-box-inner a-alert-container"><i class="a-icon a-icon-alert"></i>
<div class="a-alert-content"> <span id="atwl-inline-error-msg" class="a-size-base" role="alert"> Unable to add item to Wish List. Please try again. </span> </div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="atwl-dd-spinner-holder" class="a-section a-hidden">
<div class="a-row a-dropdown">
<div class="a-section a-popover-wrapper">
<div class="a-section a-text-center a-popover-inner">
<div class="a-box a-popover-loading">
<div class="a-box-inner"> </div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="atwl-dd-error-holder" class="a-section a-hidden">
<div class="a-section a-dropdown">
<div class="a-section a-popover-wrapper">
<div class="a-section a-spacing-base a-padding-base a-text-left a-popover-inner">
<h3 class="a-color-error"> Sorry, there was a problem. </h3> <span> There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again. </span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="atwl-dd-unavail-holder" class="a-section a-hidden">
<div class="a-section a-dropdown">
<div class="a-section a-popover-wrapper">
<div class="a-section a-spacing-base a-padding-base a-text-left a-popover-inner">
<h3 class="a-color-error"> Sorry, there was a problem. </h3> <span> List unavailable. </span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<script type="a-state" data-a-state="{"key":"atwl"}">
{"showInlineLink":false,"hzPopover":true,"wishlistButtonId":"add-to-wishlist-button","dropDownHtml":"","inlineJsFix":true,"wishlistButtonSubmitId":"add-to-wishlist-button-submit","maxAjaxFailureCount":"3","asin":"0691136408"}</script>
</div>
<script type="a-state" data-a-state="{"key":"popoverState"}">{"formId":"addToCart","showWishListDropDown":false,"wishlistPopoverWidth":206,"isAddToWishListDropDownAuiEnabled":true,"showPopover":false}</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
(function(f) {
var _np = (window.P._namespace("GiftingDetailPageTemplates"));
if (_np.guardFatal) {
_np.guardFatal(f)(_np);
} else {
f(_np);
}
}(function(P) {
'use strict';
window.P.now('atwl-ready').execute(function(atwlModule) {
var isRegistered = (typeof atwlModule !== 'undefined');
if (!isRegistered) {
window.P.register('atwl-ready');
}
});
}));
</script>
<div class="aok-hidden" data-amazon-lists-csrf-token="g9LmzyFpWZ0MeZ8YUWvZcXcg1uxYnfHfij/2LAJZkHRzAAAAAQAAAABlFLhmcmF3AAAAAHuL9oHQYR32uqP6iUf8pA=="></div>
<script type="text/javascript">
(function(f) {
var _np = (window.P._namespace("list-CF-register-js"));
if (_np.guardFatal) {
_np.guardFatal(f)(_np);
} else {
f(_np);
}
}(function(P) {
"use strict";
window.P.now('atwl-cf').execute(function(module) {
var isRegistered = (typeof module !== 'undefined');
if (!isRegistered) {
window.P.register('atwl-cf');
}
});
}));
</script>
<script type="a-state" data-a-state="{"key":"atbrState"}">{"vendorId":"website.huc.shoveler","sessionId":"357-8890848-7461408","hasBabyReg":false,"dpxCodeMigration":"true","token":""}</script>
<div id="add-to-baby-button-group" class="a-section a-spacing-top-small add-to-baby-button-spacing-bottom"> <span class="a-declarative" data-action="dpx-add-to-baby-registry-action" data-csa-c-type="widget"
data-csa-c-func-deps="aui-da-dpx-add-to-baby-registry-action" data-dpx-add-to-baby-registry-action="{}" data-csa-c-id="mdtsl4-h73sg6-imeh5q-xbv85r"> <span class="a-button a-button-base registry-button-width" id="a-autoid-0"><span
class="a-button-inner"><button id="add-to-baby-registry-button" title="Add to Baby Wishlist" data-hover="To Add to Baby Wishlist, choose from options to the left" class="a-button-text a-text-left" type="button"> Add to Baby Wishlist
</button></span></span> </span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="" value="true" id="is-fully-selected-baby-reg"> <span class="a-declarative" data-action="br_dp_post_atbr_close" data-csa-c-type="widget"
data-csa-c-func-deps="aui-da-br_dp_post_atbr_close" data-br_dp_post_atbr_close="{}" data-csa-c-id="hb1w5m-9gbu47-h9wzh-9foj5q">
<div id="br-dp-post-atbr-light-box" class="br-dp-post-atbr-light-box a-hidden"></div>
</span>
<div id="br-dp-post-atbr-container" class="a-section br-dp-post-atbr-container">
<div id="dp-br-post-atbr-layout" class="a-section a-spacing-none dp-br-post-atbr-layout">
<div id="dp-br-post-atbr-header" class="a-section a-spacing-none dp-br-post-atbr-header">
<div id="dp-br-post-atbr-header-content" class="dp-br-post-atbr-header-content">
<div id="dp-br-post-atbr-header-checklist-text-circle" class="dp-br-post-atbr-header-checklist-text-circle a-hidden">
<div id="dp-br-post-atbr-header-checklist-pie" class="pie-wrapper progress-0">
<span id="dp-br-post-atbr-header-checklist-percent" class="label"> 0<span class="smaller">%</span> </span>
<div class="pie">
<div class="left-side half-circle"></div>
<div class="right-side half-circle"></div>
</div>
<div class="shadow">
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="dp-br-post-atbr-header-text" class="dp-br-post-atbr-header-text">
<span id="dp-br-post-atbr-header-checklist-text" class="dp-br-post-atbr-header-checklist-text">
<a id="dp-br-post-atbr-header-checklist-link" class="a-color-base a-link-normal" href="#"> Go to checklist </a> </span>
<span id="dp-br-post-atbr-header-registry" class="dp-br-post-atbr-header-registry">
<a id="dp-br-post-atbr-header-registry-link" class="a-color-base a-link-normal" href="#"> Go to Baby Wishlist </a> </span>
<span class="a-declarative" data-action="br_dp_post_atbr_close" data-csa-c-type="widget" data-csa-c-func-deps="aui-da-br_dp_post_atbr_close" data-br_dp_post_atbr_close="{}" data-csa-c-id="xwsar-wmweqx-gkr6g7-2f6auq">
<a href="javascript:void(0)" class="close"></a>
</span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="br-dp-post-atbr-status" class="a-section a-spacing-none br-dp-post-atbr-status">
<div class="a-row">
<div id="br-dp-post-atbr-status-left" class="a-column a-span12 br-dp-post-atbr-status-left">
<div id="br-dp-post-atbr-status-add-to-registry" class="br-dp-post-atbr-status-add-to-registry">
<img alt="" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/common/transparent-pixel._V192234675_.gif" class="br-dp-post-atbr-status-add-to-registry-image" id="br-dp-post-atbr-status-add-to-registry-item-img">
<div id="br-dp-post-atbr-status-add-to-registry-success" class="br-dp-post-atbr-status-add-to-registry-success a-hidden">
<div class="a-box a-alert-inline a-alert-inline-success br-dp-post-atbr-status-add-to-registry-success-text" aria-live="polite" aria-atomic="true">
<div class="a-box-inner a-alert-container"><i class="a-icon a-icon-alert"></i>
<div class="a-alert-content"> <span> Added to Baby Wishlist </span> </div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="br-dp-post-atbr-status-add-to-registry-dup" class="br-dp-post-atbr-status-add-to-registry-dup a-hidden">
<i id="br-dp-post-atbr-status-add-to-registry-dup-icon" class="a-icon a-icon-warning a-icon-small br-dp-post-atbr-status-add-to-registry-dup-icon" role="presentation"></i> <span> Item is already in your registry </span>
</div>
</div>
<div id="br-dp-post-atbr-status-add-to-registry-request-line" class="br-dp-post-atbr-status-add-to-registry-request-line">
<span id="br-dp-post-atbr-status-add-to-registry-request-text" class="br-dp-post-atbr-status-add-to-registry-request-text"> Requested: </span>
<span id="br-dp-post-atbr-status-add-to-registry-request" class="br-dp-post-atbr-status-add-to-registry-request">
<span class="a-declarative" data-action="br_dp_post_atbr_manage_request_quantity_item_action" data-csa-c-type="widget" data-csa-c-func-deps="aui-da-br_dp_post_atbr_manage_request_quantity_item_action"
data-br_dp_post_atbr_manage_request_quantity_item_action="{}" data-csa-c-id="ymqmox-4sakon-b4jlor-zczqlw"> <span class="a-dropdown-container"><select name="br-dp-post-atbr-header-registry-request" autocomplete="off"
id="br-dp-post-atbr-header-registry-request" tabindex="0" data-action="a-dropdown-select" class="a-native-dropdown a-declarative">
<option class="a-prompt" value="">1</option>
<option value="1">1</option>
<option value="2">2</option>
<option value="3">3</option>
<option value="4">4</option>
<option value="5">5</option>
<option value="6">6</option>
<option value="7">7</option>
<option value="8">8</option>
<option value="9">9</option>
<option value="10">10</option>
</select><span tabindex="-1" class="a-button a-button-dropdown" aria-hidden="true" id="a-autoid-1" style="min-width: 0%;"><span class="a-button-inner"><span class="a-button-text a-declarative"
data-csa-c-func-deps="aui-da-a-dropdown-button" data-csa-c-type="widget" data-csa-interaction-events="click" data-action="a-dropdown-button" aria-hidden="true" id="a-autoid-1-announce"
data-csa-c-id="lg5rrh-kmf1f4-i9winm-iwsgwx"><span class="a-dropdown-prompt">1</span></span><i class="a-icon a-icon-dropdown"></i></span></span></span> </span> </span>
</div>
</div>
<div id="br-dp-post-atbr-status-right" class="a-column a-span12 br-dp-post-atbr-status-right">
<div id="br-dp-post-atbr-status-item-status" class="br-dp-post-atbr-status-item-status">
<div id="br-dp-post-atbr-status-item-status-col" class="br-dp-post-atbr-status-item-status-col">
<span class="a-declarative" data-action="br_dp_post_atbr_manage_must_have_item_action" data-csa-c-type="widget" data-csa-c-func-deps="aui-da-br_dp_post_atbr_manage_must_have_item_action"
data-br_dp_post_atbr_manage_must_have_item_action="{}" data-csa-c-id="38qew5-jawz6b-e949ol-4v4kt">
<div class="a-checkbox a-checkbox-fancy br-dp-post-atbr-status-item-status-col-box"><label for="br_dp_post_atbr_manage_must_have_item"><input id="br_dp_post_atbr_manage_must_have_item" type="checkbox" name=""
value=""><i class="a-icon a-icon-checkbox"></i><span class="a-label a-checkbox-label"> Must-have item </span></label></div>
</span> <span class="a-declarative" data-action="br_dp_post_atbr_manage_group_gifting_item_action" data-csa-c-type="widget" data-csa-c-func-deps="aui-da-br_dp_post_atbr_manage_group_gifting_item_action"
data-br_dp_post_atbr_manage_group_gifting_item_action="{}" data-csa-c-id="q26n6l-w4eq8u-b8y12s-sbchh8">
<div class="a-checkbox a-checkbox-fancy br-dp-post-atbr-status-item-status-col-box"><label for="br_dp_post_atbr_manage_group_gifting_item"><input id="br_dp_post_atbr_manage_group_gifting_item" type="checkbox" name=""
value=""><i class="a-icon a-icon-checkbox"></i><span class="a-label a-checkbox-label"> Enable group gifting </span></label></div>
</span> <span class="a-declarative" data-action="br_dp_post_atbr_manage_private_item_action" data-csa-c-type="widget" data-csa-c-func-deps="aui-da-br_dp_post_atbr_manage_private_item_action"
data-br_dp_post_atbr_manage_private_item_action="{}" data-csa-c-id="ych8bw-8aywao-7u2j2j-wg7g15">
<div class="a-checkbox a-checkbox-fancy br-dp-post-atbr-status-item-status-col-box"><label for="br_dp_post_atbr_manage_private_item"><input id="br_dp_post_atbr_manage_private_item" type="checkbox" name=""
value=""><i class="a-icon a-icon-checkbox"></i><span class="a-label a-checkbox-label"> Private </span></label></div>
</span>
</div>
<div id="br-dp-post-atbr-status-manage-info-popover" class="br-dp-post-atbr-status-manage-info-popover">
<span class="a-declarative" data-action="br-dp-post-atbr-status-manage-info-popover" data-csa-c-type="widget" data-csa-c-func-deps="aui-da-br-dp-post-atbr-status-manage-info-popover"
data-br-dp-post-atbr-status-manage-info-popover="{"popoverContent":"\u003cdiv id=\"br-manage-popover-content-section\" class=\"br-manage-popover-content-section\">\n \u003cdiv>\n \u003cdiv id=\"br-manage-popover-content-section-title-must-have\"\n class=\"br-manage-popover-content-section-title\">\n \u003cspan>Must-have\u003c\/span> \u003c\/div>\n \u003cdiv id=\"br-manage-popover-content-section-content-must-have\"\n class=\"br-manage-popover-content-section-content\">\n \u003cspan>This item will display a \u2018Must-have\u2019 badge to friends and family viewing your Baby Wishlist\u003c\/span> \u003c\/div>\n \u003c\/div>\n \u003cdiv>\n \u003cdiv id=\"br-manage-popover-content-section-title-group\"\n class=\"br-manage-popover-content-section-title\">\n \u003cspan>Group gifting\u003c\/span> \u003c\/div>\n \u003cdiv id=\"br-manage-popover-content-section-content-group\"\n class=\"br-manage-popover-content-section-content\">\n \u003cspan>Enabling this setting allows family and friends to contribute an amount of their choosing towards this item.\u003c\/span> \u003ca id=\"br-manage-popover-content-section-content-group-link\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"#\"> \u003cspan>Learn more\u003c\/span> \u003c\/a> \u003c\/div>\n \u003c\/div>\n \u003cdiv>\n \u003cdiv id=\"br-manage-popover-content-section-title-private\"\n class=\"br-manage-popover-content-section-title\">\n \u003cspan>Private\u003c\/span> \u003c\/div>\n \u003cdiv id=\"br-manage-popover-content-section-content-private\"\n class=\"br-manage-popover-content-section-content\">\n \u003cspan>Only you and your co-registrant can see this item.\u003c\/span> \u003c\/div>\n \u003c\/div>\n \u003c\/div>"}"
data-csa-c-id="n1mt89-ogyw3m-ftm4bo-tonw14">
<a class="a-link-normal" href="#"> <i id="br-dp-post-atbr-status-manage-info-icon" class="a-icon a-icon-info a-icon-medium br-dp-post-atbr-status-manage-info-icon" role="presentation"></i> </a> </span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="br-dp-post-atbr-spinner" class="a-section a-spacing-top-large a-text-center a-hidden"> <span class="a-spinner a-spinner-medium"></span> </div>
<div id="br-dp-post-atbr-recommadation">
</div>
</div>
</div>
<style type="text/css">
.registry-button-width {
width: 100%;
margin-left: ;
margin-right: ;
}
.add-to-baby-button-spacing-bottom {
margin-bottom: 0;
}
</style>
</div>
</div> <input data-addnewaddress="add-new" id="cartAddressNew" name="dropdown-selection" type="hidden" value="add-new" class="nav-progressive-attribute"><input data-addnewaddress="add-new" id="cartAddressUsed" name="dropdown-selection-ubb"
type="hidden" value="add-new" class="nav-progressive-attribute">
</form>GET
<form method="get" action="" autocomplete="off" class="aok-hidden all-offers-display-params"> <input type="hidden" name="" value="true" id="all-offers-display-reload-param"> <input type="hidden" name="" id="all-offers-display-params"
data-asin="0691136408" data-m="" data-qid="" data-smid="" data-sourcecustomerorglistid="" data-sourcecustomerorglistitemid="" data-sr=""> </form>GET
<form method="get" action="" autocomplete="off" class="aok-hidden all-offers-display-params"> <input type="hidden" name="" value="true" id="all-offers-display-reload-param"> <input type="hidden" name="" id="all-offers-display-params"
data-asin="0691136408" data-m="" data-qid="" data-smid="" data-sourcecustomerorglistid="" data-sourcecustomerorglistitemid="" data-sr=""> </form>POST
<form method="post" action="" class="_shopping-cx-feedback-widget_style_radio-feedback-form__2dveN">
<fieldset>
<h1 id="radioHeading" class="a-size-large a-spacing-double-large a-text-center feedbackRadioHeading a-text-bold">How would you rate your experience shopping for books on Amazon today?</h1>
</fieldset>
<table class="a-normal _shopping-cx-feedback-widget_style_radio-feedback-table__3PsBH">
<tbody>
<tr class="_shopping-cx-feedback-widget_style_form-horizontal-radiobutton-input-row__1t5DJ">
<td class="_shopping-cx-feedback-widget_style_form-table-column__3c_E1">
<div data-a-input-name="shoppingCXRadio" class="a-radio a-radio-fancy feedbackRadioButton"><label for="radio1"><input type="radio" id="radio1" name="shoppingCXRadio" value="1" autocomplete="off"><i class="a-icon a-icon-radio"></i><span
class="a-label a-radio-label"><span aria-hidden="false" hidden="">Very poor</span></span></label></div>
</td>
<td class="_shopping-cx-feedback-widget_style_form-table-column__3c_E1">
<div data-a-input-name="shoppingCXRadio" class="a-radio a-radio-fancy feedbackRadioButton"><label for="radio2"><input type="radio" id="radio2" name="shoppingCXRadio" value="2" autocomplete="off"><i class="a-icon a-icon-radio"></i><span
class="a-label a-radio-label"><span aria-hidden="false" hidden="">Poor</span></span></label></div>
</td>
<td class="_shopping-cx-feedback-widget_style_form-table-column__3c_E1">
<div data-a-input-name="shoppingCXRadio" class="a-radio a-radio-fancy feedbackRadioButton"><label for="radio3"><input type="radio" id="radio3" name="shoppingCXRadio" value="3" autocomplete="off"><i class="a-icon a-icon-radio"></i><span
class="a-label a-radio-label"><span aria-hidden="false" hidden="">Neutral</span></span></label></div>
</td>
<td class="_shopping-cx-feedback-widget_style_form-table-column__3c_E1">
<div data-a-input-name="shoppingCXRadio" class="a-radio a-radio-fancy feedbackRadioButton"><label for="radio4"><input type="radio" id="radio4" name="shoppingCXRadio" value="4" autocomplete="off"><i class="a-icon a-icon-radio"></i><span
class="a-label a-radio-label"><span aria-hidden="false" hidden="">Good</span></span></label></div>
</td>
<td class="_shopping-cx-feedback-widget_style_form-table-column__3c_E1">
<div data-a-input-name="shoppingCXRadio" class="a-radio a-radio-fancy feedbackRadioButton"><label for="radio5"><input type="radio" id="radio5" name="shoppingCXRadio" value="5" autocomplete="off"><i class="a-icon a-icon-radio"></i><span
class="a-label a-radio-label"><span aria-hidden="false" hidden="">Great</span></span></label></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="_shopping-cx-feedback-widget_style_form-horizontal-radiobutton-label-row__2mRxc">
<td class="_shopping-cx-feedback-widget_style_form-table-column__3c_E1">
<div class="_shopping-cx-feedback-widget_style_feedback-radio-label__JZ92s"><span aria-hidden="true" class="a-size-base">Very poor</span></div>
</td>
<td></td>
<td class="_shopping-cx-feedback-widget_style_form-table-column__3c_E1">
<div class="_shopping-cx-feedback-widget_style_feedback-radio-label__JZ92s"><span aria-hidden="true" class="a-size-base">Neutral</span></div>
</td>
<td></td>
<td class="_shopping-cx-feedback-widget_style_form-table-column__3c_E1">
<div class="_shopping-cx-feedback-widget_style_feedback-radio-label__JZ92s"><span aria-hidden="true" class="a-size-base">Great</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</form>Name: ue_backdetect — get
<form name="ue_backdetect" action="get"><input type="hidden" name="ue_back" value="2"></form>Text Content
Skip to main content
.com.au
Deliver to Germany
Books
Select the department you want to search in All Departments Alexa Skills Amazon
Devices Amazon Global Store Amazon Warehouse Apps & Games Audible Audiobooks
Automotive Baby Beauty Books CDs & Vinyl Clothing, Shoes & Accessories Women
Men Girls Boys Baby Computer & Accessories Electronics Garden Gift
Cards Health, Household & Personal Care Home Home Improvement Kindle Store
Kitchen & Dining Luggage & Travel Gear Movies & TV Musical Instruments Pantry
Food & Drinks Pet Supplies Premium Beauty Prime Video Software Sports, Fitness &
Outdoors Stationery & Office Products Subscribe & Save Toys & Games Video Games
Wine, Beer & Spirits
Search Amazon.com.au
EN
Hello, sign in
Account & Lists Returns & Orders
0
Cart
Sign in
New customer? Start here.
Your Lists
Create a List Baby Wishlist
Your Account
Your Account Your Orders Your Recommendations Your Prime Membership Your
Memberships & Subscriptions Your Subscribe & Save Items Your seller account Your
Pets Manage Your Content and Devices Your Music Your Apps & Devices Your Prime
Video Your Amazon Drive Your Kindle Unlimited
Sign in
New customer? Start here.
All
Sell Best Sellers Today's Deals Prime New Releases Music Books Gift Ideas
Fashion Electronics Home Toys & Games Beauty Computers Gift Cards Video Games
Home Improvement Audible Sports, Fitness & Outdoors Health & Personal Care
Coupons Automotive Subscribe & Save Pet Supplies Customer Service Kindle Books
Books Deals Advanced Search Best Sellers New Releases Children's Books Textbooks
Australian Authors Kindle Books Audiobooks Amazon Editors' Choice
The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy
Bigger : Levinson, Marc: Amazon.com.au: Books
* Books
* ›
* Engineering & Transportation
* ›
* Engineering
Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.
Deliver to Germany
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Add to Wish List
Added to
Unable to add item to Wish List. Please try again.
SORRY, THERE WAS A PROBLEM.
There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.
SORRY, THERE WAS A PROBLEM.
List unavailable.
Add to Baby Wishlist
0%
Go to checklist Go to Baby Wishlist
Added to Baby Wishlist
Item is already in your registry
Requested: 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1
Must-have item
Enable group gifting
Private
Have one to sell?
Sell on Amazon
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your
smartphone, tablet or computer—no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Using your mobile phone camera, scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
IMAGE UNAVAILABLE
Image not available for
Colour:
*
*
*
* To view this video download Flash Player
Roll over image to zoom in
*
*
*
* 3+
* 2+
* 1+
* VIDEOS
* 360° VIEW
* IMAGES
*
Audible sample Sample
0:00
0:00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOLLOW THE AUTHOR
Marc LevinsonMarc Levinson
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
OK
THE BOX: HOW THE SHIPPING CONTAINER MADE THE WORLD SMALLER AND THE WORLD ECONOMY
BIGGER PAPERBACK – 15 JANUARY 2008
by Marc Levinson (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 523 ratings
See all formats and editions
Sorry, there was a problem loading this page. Try again.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amazon Price
New from Used from
Audible Audiobook, Unabridged
"Please retry"
$0.00
Free with your Audible trial
Hardcover
"Please retry"
—
$103.12 $75.83
Paperback
"Please retry"
—
$98.39 $86.13
* Audiobook
$0.00 Free with your Audible trial
* Hardcover
from $75.83
2 Used from $75.83 7 New from $103.12
* Paperback
from $86.13
2 Used from $86.13 5 New from $98.39
In April 1956, a refitted oil tanker carried fifty-eight shipping containers
from Newark to Houston. From that modest beginning, container shipping developed
into a huge industry that made the boom in global trade possible. The Box tells
the dramatic story of the container's creation, the decade of struggle before it
was widely adopted, and the sweeping economic consequences of the sharp fall in
transportation costs that containerization brought about.
Published on the fiftieth anniversary of the first container voyage, this is the
first comprehensive history of the shipping container. It recounts how the drive
and imagination of an iconoclastic entrepreneur, Malcom McLean, turned
containerization from an impractical idea into a massive industry that slashed
the cost of transporting goods around the world and made the boom in global
trade possible.
But the container didn't just happen. Its adoption required huge sums of money,
both from private investors and from ports that aspired to be on the leading
edge of a new technology. It required years of high-stakes bargaining with two
of the titans of organized labor, Harry Bridges and Teddy Gleason, as well as
delicate negotiations on standards that made it possible for almost any
container to travel on any truck or train or ship. Ultimately, it took McLean's
success in supplying U.S. forces in Vietnam to persuade the world of the
container's potential.
Drawing on previously neglected sources, economist Marc Levinson shows how the
container transformed economic geography, devastating traditional ports such as
New York and London and fueling the growth of previously obscure ones, such as
Oakland. By making shipping so cheap that industry could locate factories far
from its customers, the container paved the way for Asia to become the world's
workshop and brought consumers a previously unimaginable variety of low-cost
products from around the globe.
Read more
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Previous page
1. Print length
400 pages
2. Language
English
3. Publisher
Princeton University Press
4. Publication date
15 January 2008
5. Dimensions
15.24 x 2.54 x 22.86 cm
6. ISBN-10
0691136408
7. ISBN-13
978-0691136400
8. See all details
Next page
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
POPULAR TITLES BY THIS AUTHOR
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Previous page
1. Economist Guide To Financial Markets 7th: Why they exist and how they work
Marc Levinson
4.4 out of 5 stars 193
Paperback
16 offers from $15.18
2. The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World
Economy Bigger - Second Edition with a new chapter by the author
Marc Levinson
4.5 out of 5 stars 976
Paperback
22 offers from $44.91
3. Outside the Box: How Globalization Changed from Moving Stuff to Spreading
Ideas
Marc Levinson
4.6 out of 5 stars 89
Paperback
2 offers from $34.67
4. The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America
Marc Levinson
4.3 out of 5 stars 31
Paperback
2 offers from $36.58
5. An Extraordinary Time: The End of the Postwar Boom and the Return of the
Ordinary Economy
Marc Levinson
4.2 out of 5 stars 95
Paperback
5 offers from $20.91
6. The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America
Marc Levinson
4.4 out of 5 stars 114
Hardcover
8 offers from $18.67
7. The Box – How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World
Economy Bigger
Marc Levinson
4.3 out of 5 stars 523
Hardcover
9 offers from $75.83
Next page
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CUSTOMERS WHO BOUGHT THIS ITEM ALSO BOUGHT
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Previous page
1. Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology
Chris Miller
4.7 out of 5 stars 4,299
Hardcover
14 offers from $40.08
2. Letters from a Stoic (Volume 3)
Seneca
4.3 out of 5 stars 104
Paperback
2 offers from $115.33
3. Ninety Percent of Everything: Inside Shipping, the Invisible Industry That
Puts Clothes on Your Back, Gas in Your Car, and Food on Your Plate
Rose George
4.1 out of 5 stars 914
Hardcover
4 offers from $18.51
4. An Extraordinary Time: The End of the Postwar Boom and the Return of the
Ordinary Economy
Marc Levinson
4.2 out of 5 stars 95
Hardcover
$54.17$54.17
Usually dispatched within 4 to 6 weeks
Next page
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
REVIEW
Winner of the 2007 Anderson Medal, Society for Nautical Research
Winner of the 2007 Bronze Medal in Finance/Investment/Economics, Independent
Publisher Book Awards
Shortlisted for the 2006 Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year
Honorable Mention for the 2006 John Lyman Book Award, Science and Technology
category, North American Society for Ocean History
One of Financial Times (FT.com) Best Business Books of 2013 (chosen by guest
critic Bill Gates, Chairman of Microsoft)
One of the most significant, yet least noticed, economic developments of the
last few decades [was] the transformation of international shipping. . . . The
idea of containerization was simple: to move trailer-size loads of goods
seamlessly among trucks, trains and ships, without breaking bulk. . . . Along
the way, even the most foresighted people made mistakes and lost millions. . . .
[A] classic tale of trial and error, and of creative destruction.---Virginia
Postrel, The New York Times
Marc Levinson's concern is business history on a grand scale. He tells a moral
tale. There are villains ... and there is one larger than life hero: Malcom
McLean. . . . Levinson has produced a fascinating exposition of the romance of
the steel container. I'll never look at a truck in the same way again.---Howard
Davies, The Times
Like much of today's international cargo, Marc Levinson's The Box arrives 'just
in time.'. . . It is a tribute to the box itself that far-off places matter so
much to us now: It has eased trade, sped up delivery, lowered prices and widened
the offering of goods everywhere. Not bad for something so simple and
self-contained.---Tim W. Ferguson, The Wall Street Journal
[A] smart, engaging book. . . . Mr. Levinson makes a persuasive case that the
container has been woefully underappreciated. . . . [T]he story he tells is that
of a classic disruptive technology: the world worked in one fashion before the
container came onto the scene, and in a completely different fashion after it
took hold.---Joe Nocera, The New York Times
Mr Levinson. . . . makes a strong case that it was McLean's thinking that led to
modern-day containerisation. It altered the economics of shipping and with that
the flow of world trade. Without the container, there would be no globalization.
A fascinating new book. . . . [I]t shows vividly how resistance to technological
change caused shipping movements to migrate away from the Hudson river to other
East Coast ports.
Marc Levinson's The Box . . . illustrates clearly how great risks are taken by
entrepreneurs when entrenched interests and government regulators conspire
against them. Even after these opponents are dispatched, technological and
economic uncertainty plague the entrepreneur just as much as the vaunted
'first-mover advantage' blesses him, perhaps more. The story of the shipping
container is the story of the opponents of innovation.---Chris Berg, Institute
of Public Affairs Review
International trade . . . owes its exponential growth to something utterly
ordinary and overlooked, says author Marc Levinson: the metal shipping
container.... The Box makes a strong argument. . . . Levinson . . . spins yarns
of the men who fought to retain the old On the Waterfront ways and of those who
made the box ubiquitous.---Michael Arndt, BusinessWeek
[An] enlightening new history. . . . [The shipping container] was the real-world
equivalent of the Internet revolution.---Justin Fox, Fortune
Marc Levinson's The Box is . . . broad-ranging and . . . readable. It describes
not just the amazing course of the container-ship phenomenon but the turmoil of
human affairs in its wake.---Bob Simmons, The Seattle Times
Author and economist Marc Levinson recounts the little-known story of how the
humble shipping container has revolutionized world commerce. He tells his tale
using just the right blend of hard economic data and human interest. . . . Mr.
Levinson's elegant weave of transportation economics, innovation, and geography
is economic history at its accessible best.---David K. Hurst, Strategy +
Business
This well-researched and highly readable book about the ubiquitous containers
that carry so much of the world's freight will no doubt surprise most readers
with its description of the immensity of the impact this simple rectangular
steel box has had on global and regional economics, employment, labor relations,
and the environment. . . . The Box makes for an excellent primer on innovation,
risk taking, and strategic thinking. It's also a thoroughly good read.---Craig
B. Grossgart, Taiwan Business Topics
The ubiquitous shipping container . . . as Mark Levinson's multilayered study
shows . . . has transformed the global economy.
By artfully weaving together the nuts and bolts of what happened at which port
with the grand sweep of economic history, Levinson has produced a marvelous read
for anyone who cares about how the interconnected world economy came to
be.---Neil Irwin, Washington Post
Here's another item we see every day that had a revolutionary effect. The
shipping container didn't just rearrange the shipping industry, or make winners
of some ports (Seattle and Tacoma among them). It changed the dynamics and
economics of where goods are made and shipped to.---Bill Virgin, Seattle
Post-Intelligencer
Excellent.---J Bradford DeLong, The Edge Financial Daily
An engrossing read. . . . The book is well written, with detailed notes and an
index. I found it absorbing and informative from the first page.
A fascinating history of the shipping container.---Richard N. Cooper, Foreign
Affairs
For sheer originality . . . [this book] by Marc Levinson, is hard to beat. The
Box explains how the modern era of globalization was made possible, not by
politicians agreeing to cut trade tariffs and quotas, but by the humble shipping
container.---David Smith, The Sunday Times
Ingenious analysis of the phenomenon of containerism.---Stefan Stern, Financial
Times
This is a smoothly written history of the ocean shipping container. . . . Marc
Levinson turns it into a fascinating economic history of the last 50 years that
helps us to understand globalization and industrial growth in North
America.---Harvey Schachter, Globe and Mail
This is an ingenious analysis of containerization--a process that, Levinson
argues, in fact made globalization possible.
Using a blend of hard economic data and financial projections, combined with
human interest, Levinson manages to provide insights into a revolution that
changed transport forever and transformed world trade.---Leon Gettler, The Age
There is much to like about Marc Levinson's recent book, The Box. . . . Levinson
uses rich detail, a combination of archival and anecdotal data to build his
story, and is constantly moving across levels of observation. . . . And the
story of the box is a very good read.
A lively and entertaining history of the shipping container. . . . The Box does
a fine job of demonstrating how exciting the container industry is, and how much
economists stand to lose by ignoring it.---William Sjostrom, EH.Net
The Box is highly recommended for anyone with an interest in understanding the
emergence of our contemporary 'globalized' world economy.---Pierre Desrochers,
Independent Review
[T]he insights the book provides make it a worthwhile read for anyone interested
in how international trade in goods has evolved over the last 50
years.---Meredith A. Crowley, World Trade Review
The Box reveals the subject to be interesting and powerful, shedding light on
all kinds of issues, from the role of trade unions to the Vietnam War.
""The continuous decline of ocean shipping costs in the last 40 years is rarely
credited for the growth of global trade in contemporary literature. Don't miss
this amazing history."" George Stalk, Boston Consulting Group and author of
Surviving the China Riptide
""An excellent piece of work."" Bruce Nelson, Dartmouth College
""This book is dynamite. The experts who tell you the transistor and microchips
changed the world are off base. The ugly, unglamorous, little-noticed shipping
container has changed the world. Without it, there would be no globalization, no
Wal-Mart, maybe even no high-tech. And what looks like low-tech is in fact a
breathtaking technological innovation. Marc Levinson's sparkling and
authoritative story is great fun to read, but it is spectacular economic history
as well."" Peter L. Bernstein, author of Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story
of Risk
""Fascinating, informative, wonderfully historicized. This is a terrific untold
story."" Nelson Lichtenstein, University of California, Santa Barbara, and
editor of Wal-Mart: the Face of Twenty-First Century Capitalism
""The adoption of the modern shipping container may be a close second to the
Internet in the way it has changed our lives. It has made products from every
corner of the world commonplace and accessible everywhere. It has dramatically
cut the cost of transportation and thereby made outsourcing a significant issue.
It has transformed the world's port cities, and more. This book, very nicely
written, makes a fascinating set of true stories of an apparently mundane
subject, and dramatically illustrates how simple innovations can transform our
lives."" William Baumol, Director, Berkley Center for Entrepreneurial Studies,
author of The Free-Market Innovation Machine
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marc Levinson is an economist in New York and author of three previous books. He
was formerly finance and economics editor of the "Economist", a writer at
"Newsweek", and editorial director of the "Journal of Commerce".
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRODUCT DETAILS
* Publisher : Princeton University Press; 1st edition (15 January 2008)
* Language : English
* Paperback : 400 pages
* ISBN-10 : 0691136408
* ISBN-13 : 978-0691136400
* Dimensions : 15.24 x 2.54 x 22.86 cm
* Best Sellers Rank: 1,027,850 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
* 36 in Industrial Packaging Design
* 2,283 in Ships (Books)
* 3,275 in Economic History (Books)
* Customer Reviews:
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 523 ratings
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Follow
MARC LEVINSON
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
Marc Levinson is an independent historian, economist, and author. He spent many
years as a journalist, including a stint as finance and economics editor of The
Economist. He later worked as an economist at JP Morgan Chase, managed a staff
advising Congress on transportation and industry issues at the Congressional
Research Service, and served as senior fellow for international business at the
Council on Foreign Relations. For more information, check out his website at
www.marclevinson.net.
Read moreRead less
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOW WOULD YOU RATE YOUR EXPERIENCE SHOPPING FOR BOOKS ON AMAZON TODAY?
Very poor
Poor
Neutral
Good
Great
Very poor
Neutral
Great
THANK YOU FOR YOUR FEEDBACK!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CUSTOMER REVIEWS
4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
523 global ratings
5 star
50% 4 star
33% 3 star
13% 2 star
3% 1 star
2%
How are ratings calculated?
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t
use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a
review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyses
reviews to verify trustworthiness.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REVIEW THIS PRODUCT
Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
View Image Gallery
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Images in this review
* Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews
TOP REVIEWS FROM AUSTRALIA
There are 0 reviews and 2 ratings from Australia
TOP REVIEWS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES
E. Husman
4.0 out of 5 stars The shipping container and W. W. Rostow's Stages theory
Reviewed in the United States on 11 February 2007
Verified Purchase
The first thing that struck me about the impact of the shipping container was
the public policy impact on it. Before the shipping container, shipping,
trucking, and railroading were heavily regulated by the ICC. Rates were set not
only according to weight and distance, but also according to contents. Thus, the
cost of shipping 1000 pounds of tires would be different than, say, 1000 pounds
of grain, and not just because of density differences. This apparently goes back
to the complaints made by shippers in the late 19th century, and made sense to
regulators in that era. Also, prior to the container, shippers were allowed to
charge less than truckers because ships took longer. So if a ship already had a
stated rate for, say, wheat, between two ports, truckers were not allowed to
charge less (or something like that - Levinson didn't attempt to explain the
intricacies of ICC regulation). Further, shipping between American ports was
restricted to American flagged ships, and international shipping was heavily
regulated and subsidized - to qualify for the subsidy, you had to use American
built ships, and the subsidy supposedly helped make up for the more expensive
American crew. One final government involvement in the era just prior to the
shipping container's introduction: many of the ships currently in use in 1956
were WWII surplus ships, built on the cheap and available for next to nothing.
It was relatively easy to get into the business, as very little capital was
required, and ships could ply from port to port picking up freight as they went.
Enter the shipping container, 1956.
But wait: the container requires different infrastructure. The story of the
shipping container is also the story of ports where governments chose to support
the companies investing in the container. In New York City, the story is
governed by the decisions of the Port of New York Authority (now the Port
Authority of New York), which was looking to expand its bureaucratic territory.
The piers on the New York side had all the business they could want and
politicians to defend that turf. The only reason they remained viable was the
fact that the ICC required railroads to charge the same for freight delivered on
either side of the port, in effect a requirement to throw in the trans-Hudson
part of the journey for free. That was not trivial, since it involved either
removing freight from trains and loading it on barges, crossing, and then
re-loading into warehouses to wait for a ship.
Much of the history revolves around boy genius Malcom (not Malcolm, he dropped
the second l to differentiate from his father) McLean, who started in the
trucking business. Shipping something from a factory via truck to a railroad and
then (via truck again) to a port, loading it on a ship, and reversing the
process at the far end cost plenty. It cost time in transit, storage, and
management; it cost labor at each change of mode; it was extremely expensive
because of pilferage and breakage because of the frequent handling and the
subsequent insurance; and of course the shipping cost money. Malcom realized the
problem and the potential money to be made from rationalizing the shipping
process.
The first container ships required their own cranes because standard dock cranes
were not capable of lifting the containers, much less taking advantage of their
standardization and the potential savings in ship loading times. Thereafter,
however, the cranes became part of the port infrastructure, along with rail
sidings, truck terminals, deeper and wider ports, and computer controls. The
industry, in other words, became more capital intensive, and some of that
capital came from state and local governments. Those who made the commitment,
such as the Port Authority in New Jersey and Port Elizabeth, became the winners,
while those who didn't, such as New York City, did not.
The government did not only take sides in the wars between technologies and
shipping companies. As it became clear that automation was going to cost not
only cushy jobs, but real ones too, the various unions found themselves at odds
not only with shippers, but with governments as well. The City of Los Angeles
chose sides when longshoreman at first refused to unload Matson's shipping
container ships; the city threatened to take over the port and make their jobs
civil service, prevented by law from striking. The Federal government stepped in
repeatedly on the side of shippers against the East Coast union strikes.
Eventually, the Longshoreman's unions on both coasts struck deals with shippers,
trading generous contributions to retirement and unemployment funds in return
for acceptance of the technology and more productive work rules. I'm not sure
which side I come down on in that dispute: yes, there were aspects of the trade
that sound cushy, such as rules that allowed each of the two teams working a
ship to take a half day off with pay, and the day laborer aspect meant that
senior union members could work or take the day off as they desired. On the
other hand, the corrupt day labor culture enabled organized crime and allowed
rampant pilferage to persist, not to mention the fact that jobs were described
as incredibly dangerous and literally back breaking. In the old paradigm,
workers had to live in slums near the docks to make themselves available; today,
the crane operators are guaranteed a regular 40-hour-per-week job, and can
afford to live anywhere, but have to get permission to take off. In any event,
government was neither impartial referee nor friend of labor in these struggles.
So this ends up being a very complex story in which government starts out
standing against change in the status quo that had persisted since roughly the
1920s, and then steps in to tip the playing field toward the shipping container.
Levinson argues that the shipping container may not have been the only factor,
but it certainly was *a* factor in accelerating the globalization of the
economy. Before the shipping container, it was extraordinarily expensive to ship
anything overseas; today, it may be less expensive to ship goods overseas by
rail and ship than across the state by truck. Remove time and distance as
factors or advantages, and suddenly labor costs become the more important
factor.
Two final factors radically altered the trajectory of shipping. The first was
Viet Nam. The Army suddenly found itself in a situation where it needed lots of
supplies shipped in to a place with no infrastructure or railroads. McLean was
the man on the spot, winning the contract by offering to build all of the
necessary port infrastructure. The remarkable increase in efficiency forced the
federal government into the pro-container camp, but also had an unexpected
effect. With the Army picking up the ship's entire journey, westbound and
eastbound, but only shipping freight west, this left Malcom with a *pure* profit
opportunity: ships returning from Asia in the late 1960s with no cargo. A stop
in Japan for loads of televisions and automobiles solved that "problem".
Incidentally, by rationalizing shipping by making it predictable and fast, the
container contributed to the development of the inventory-free manufacturing
method of Just In Time.
The other final factor was the phasing out of the WWII surplus ships and the
phasing in of dedicated container ships in the middle of the first oil embargo
era. The shipping industry thus completed the transition from labor-intensive to
capital-intensive. The enormous ships, some of which no longer fit in the Panama
Canal, have to keep moving just to keep paying for their own financing. The cost
of shipping plummeted, and the size of ships continues to expand. The Molucca
Straits have overtaken the Panama Canal as the limiting factor on size.
Because of the plummet in shipping costs, the resulting increase in dependence
on shipping, the pressures of the oil embargoes, and the changes in finance and
capital requirements, the shipping industries were "deregulated" in the late
1970s. That deregulation was, of course, not complete. Levinson notes some
exceptions, and I found that some of the rules were still in effect when I tried
to ship something to Hawai'i a few years back.
Marc Levinson cites W. W. Rostow's "Stages of Development" argument early in the
book regarding the importance of the railroad to American and English
development, noting that the container is a modern equivalent in global
development. Rostow in fact made two claims: one, that the railroad was
essential, and two, that government investments were also crucial. Levinson's
history of the shipping container would seem to support Rostow's claim. Many of
the Asian Tiger economies - Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore - invested
heavily in port infrastructure to bring the shipping container to their shores;
they were literal cargo cults. To the extent that it worked, they have reaped
the benefits.
But Levinson provides some counterexamples. England adapted to the shipping
container very poorly, and to the extent that they did, it was because of a
private port at Felixstowe; England has arguably done quite well for itself in
the past 30 years despite missing both of the Rostovian requirements. Further,
much of the investment in American ports was private, though government has also
played a role. Finally, the Rostow argument only makes sense when you accept
that people are unequivocally better off when they adopt capital intensity. Yes,
the increase in measurable wealth is notable, but I am curious about the
intangibles and the change in quality of life, pace, direct control of one's
life that result from acceptance of the modern.
This book hits somewhere in between detailed Fogelian economic history and
story-telling, so I gave it 4 rather than 5 stars. It is certainly more
accessible than a dry investigation of the numbers, but does manage to highlight
many aspects of the technical, cultural, social, economic, and political issues
at the nexus of which was The Box.
Read more
71 people found this helpful
Report
T. Graczewski
5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating and compelling hypothesis
Reviewed in the United States on 10 November 2010
Verified Purchase
Like most inhabitants of earth, I never gave much thought to intermodal
shipping. It wasn't until I served as an economic development officer in
southern Afghanistan and began looking into ways we could more efficiently
export the high value fruits and nuts grown locally to the lucrative markets of
the Middle East that I discovered "the box": the ubiquitous forty-foot container
we've all seen on tractor trailer chassis, cargo ships and holding yards. On
Kandahar Airfield, where I was stationed for a year, these containers were
everywhere; literally thousands of them, double stacked in lines a half mile
long, most serving as temporary warehouses while waiting for a way out of
Afghanistan.
As director of strategy and corporate development for a leading Silicon Valley
software company, I also happen to be interested in disruptive technologies and
business concepts, innovations that totally remake or create industries, the
type of stuff that Harvard Business School's Clayton Christensen often writes
about. Thus, Marc Levinson's "The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World
Smaller and the World Economy Bigger," was the perfect book for me and, as it
turned out, one of the most enjoyable, enlightening reads I've had all year.
In short, Levinson argues that containerization, which was introduced by the
transportation pioneer Malcolm McLean in the early 1950s, did more than lower
the cost of shipping. It fundamentally changed the world economy. And it did so
in several ways.
First, it redefined the meaning of a port city. In the era of break bulk
shipping, all-purpose cargo ships that are manually (and slowly and expensively)
loaded and unloaded by longshoremen, it made sense to have manufacturing close
to the docks to save on transportation costs. Once the container began to
dominate shipping, the only purpose of a port was to load and unload containers
as rapidly as possible using labor saving cranes. Associated industries like
light manufacturing, insurance, freight forwarding and other services, once
co-located with the docks, were no longer relevant to the waterfront. Such a
change spelled the end of shipping as a major operation in numerous traditional
port cities, from Baltimore and San Francisco to Liverpool and London. In the
busiest port in the US, New York City, the massive new container facility
operation across the harbor at Newark and Elizabeth wiped out the long
established docks of Brooklyn and Manhattan with a suddenness that shocked
politicians, labor bosses and shippers, alike.
'The primary reason for this change is that the container turned shipping into a
capital intensive industry that thrived on economies of scale, making the once
sleepy shipping industry look a lot like the hyper competitive US railroads of
the 1850s. In the break bulk era, dockside labor accounted for the major part of
operational costs and the expense of overland transportation made numerous port
city venues necessary. The economics of the container ship, requiring regular
debt payments to finance their construction and only earning revenue while
underway, dictated that fewer ports were visited and more cargo was loaded at
each. Suddenly, small port cities like Mobile and Tampa were simply passed by,
devastating the local longshoremen unions and others reliant on the shipping
industry. Meanwhile, upstart ports like Oakland, Singapore and Felixstowe in the
UK emerged as major container shipping terminals.
Second, it changed the geography of global manufacturing. The efficiencies of
container shipping reduced transportation costs so dramatically that they no
longer figured significantly influenced end user prices, whereas in the break
bulk days the cost of transoceanic shipping acted as a double digit tariff on
imported goods. Suddenly, it made economic sense to relocate manufacturing
facilities in distant, low labor cost countries and simply ship the goods
halfway around the world in container ships.
Third, the economic revolution of the container was slow in coming. The real
revolution didn't happen until the shippers (i.e. the makers of TVs,
refrigerators, etc.) centralized operations and began to take advantage of
container efficiencies, which also really weren't available until deregulation
opened up opportunities for big shippers to save with long term contracts and
steep bulk shipping discounts. Process innovations like Toyota's "just in time"
supply chain, which gained popularity in the early 1980s, saw large corporations
invest unprecedented time and energy to improve their logistics operations.
Levinson writes that by the time the container dominated transoceanic shipping
-- over 80% of all goods traveling by container -- the vast majority of cargo
were not finished consumer goods but rather "intermediate goods," parts and
supplies used for final manufacturing.
Several additional themes emerge from "The Box." One is that organized labor and
government regulation, no matter how well meaning, are often the most powerful
inhibiters to business innovation, which comes with an enormous price tag that
is ultimately passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices for inferior
goods. Next, few people present at the creation ever "get" (and profit from) the
full affect of sweeping change that new technologies and processes like
intermodal shipping. Unions failed to appreciate its potential impact and
suffered dearly because of it. It took governments decades to figure out that
they shouldn't be in the port management business and leave the extensive
capital outlays to private investors. And most private sector investors were
wrong about the speed at which the container would alter the economics of
international shipping. RJ Reynolds foray into the business through the
acquisition of McLean's Sea Land ended in disappointment for everyone, their
shareholders foremost among them. And even McLean himself, the godfather of the
container and a man lionized by Levinson, got the container very wrong on
several occasions, including the 1980s bankruptcy of his acquired US Lines,
which sought to establish a round-the-world container transportation route. Most
intriguingly, those that did profit from the revolution, such as Hong Kong-based
Evergreen and Denmark-based Maersk Lines, were no early movers or bleeding edge
innovators. Indeed, they didn't get into the container shipping business until
the 1970s.
As fascinating and compelling as the argument presented in "The Box" may be, it
is only a hypothesis. Levinson has almost NO quantitative evidence to defend his
claims. There are very few graphs and data tables in this book, although one
gets the distinct impression it was not for lack of trying on Levinson's part.
"The technical problems involved in measuring shipping rates during the 1960s
and 1970s are so great that reliable measures of the container's price impact
are unlikely to be developed," he glumly concludes.
I loved this book. You may, too, if you find the basic themes interesting --
innovation, globalization, and market disruption.
Read more
13 people found this helpful
Report
Peter Lorenzi
5.0 out of 5 stars Boxing in goods unleashes globalization: The world is not
flat
Reviewed in the United States on 21 August 2006
Verified Purchase
In "On the waterfront," perhaps the saddest point of the film is where Fr. Barry
eulogizes K. O. Duggan, killed off by the mob. But Marc Levinson has located a
larger villain, the real force that killed off so many longshoremen's careers:
the standardized shipping container. While a highly trained crane operator
working today's docks earns $120,000 a year, their numbers are few and few of
them are former longshoremen or sons of longshoremen. And cargo handling costs
have dropped over 90%. Yet this is only the start. The shipping container
reduced spoilage, theft, insurance costs, delays, and the entire cost of going
global.
Levinson's well-researched treatment of a seemingly pedestrian subject works
effectively to show that the world is not flat. The original dust cover of
Friedman's best-selling book shows a tall-masted ship going over the edge of the
'flat' earth, confirming flat earth society members' discarded beliefs but
distorting and mischaracterizing globalization. Levinson's rich, detailed,
data-filled work shows the stark difference between Levinson's work with The
Economist and Friedman's with The New York Times. Levinson uses a thorough,
comprehensive economic and technological analysis, while Friedman flies around
the world with a consistent "gee whiz" attitude of surprise. Levinson traces
multitudes of disparate events and finds common links where Friedman finds
common links and illustrates them with cursory events. Levinson is an economist;
Friedman is a journalist. Friedman mixes metaphors and hyperbole; Levinson mixes
in a wide range of colorful characters and challenges. Levinson is an editor;
Friedman needs one. People who want to understand the recent history, impetus
and infrastructure of globalization need to read "The box."
Fifty years ago, maverick southern trucker Malcolm McLean devised a method for a
quantum leap forward in the handling of cargo in transit. At that time, the
process of loading and offloading of ships had not changed much in hundreds of
years. Loose cargo, irregular, unpredictable and back-breaking work,
light-fingered workers, corrupt stevedores, poor management, and mob-controlled
unions were the order of the day and most orders changed on a daily basis. The
workers probably suffered the most, but the hidden impact on global trade was
severe as well. Some small and expensive products -- whiskey, watches -- could
not be shipped reliably and safely when subject to massive pilferage. While
containers started as a domestic solution, their global use worked miracles in
reducing the costs of getting products thousands of miles, and not just on what
came to be huge, fast new ocean sailing ships. Railroads and truckers
participated in this transformation. Markets opened up. Ports like Felixstowe
(England) and Singapore emerged rapidly, displacing older, intransigent ports.
Military shipping in containers from America's west coast for the Vietnam War
made return trips with stop offs in Japan a cheap, added source of shipping
revenue. Cheap-to-ship Japanese products flooded America. Ports sprung up where
investors and governments were willing to build cranes, re-build docks and
dredge canals. Corrupt, inefficient labor could be bypassed and eliminated, no
matter how powerful the union or onerous the contracts. Free trade multiplied.
Sometimes global revolutionary change is not sexy. It's not even
computer-driven. Maybe the computer chip spurred globalization, but it was the
container ship that made it possible. The idea is to make trade fast, reliable
and inexpensive, not just to make the world flat. Containers are like computer
chips; they hold lots of stuff in a well-organized fashion. Without the
containers, the global transportation network would be running much slower and
more costly than it does today. Levinson catalogs a history of shadowy
billionaires, entrepreneurs, and a few enlightened governments (the demise of
London and New York City ports under much less enlightened leaders is especially
painful) that produced a true global revolution. This book is a greater tale of
globalization.
I only wish Levinson had included some photographs and more drawings. Some of
the technical and industry-specific language can be dry and hard to visualize
through verbal descriptions alone.
Read more
277 people found this helpful
Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars How the container wrought a social and economic revolution
Reviewed in the United States on 4 November 2006
Verified Purchase
Commonplace objects that go almost un-noticed in daily life often conceal
interesting stories. "The Box" by Marc Levinson is a case in point.
All of us have seen shipping containers being trucked along the highways or
sitting in some factory, but we pay them little attention. Yet the cheap shoes
we wear and the affordable digital cameras we tote around owe their low cost to
a global economic revolution driven to a surprising extent by the shipping
container.
Levinson tells this remarkable story in his exceptionally readable book. His
description of working life on the docks and how break-bulk cargo was handled in
pre-container days makes fascinating reading. Traditional waterfront work
practices and communities disappeared with remarkable speed once
containerisation took over.
The resulting derelict port areas and piers in most major waterfront cities in
the world morphed into trendy shopping, eating and entertainment precincts - all
due to a revolution wrought by the shipping container.
Industries that once clustered near major ports to minimise high transport costs
were then free to spread widely and even globally in search of the lowest
business costs.
Levinson writes about the technical and economic aspects of his subject in a
very clear manner, fully accessible to the general reader. His explanation of
the shipping "rate wars" (my term) of the late 1960's - early 1970's is a gem of
clarity.
Not being familiar with the US transportation regulatory regime in the mid-20th
century, I was astonished to read that the US ICC regulated routes and freight
rates to a degree that seems ludicrous today. To take one example, an American
trucking company had to get ICC approval to transport particular goods along
defined routes and charge their customers regulated freight rates. Advocates of
containerisation had to fight against such entrenched bureaucracies and vested
interests.
Some longshore Unions were able to negotiate bizarre contracts to preserve
dwindling jobs. In one case, filled containers delivered to a port had to be
emptied on the docks and refilled with exactly the same cargo before the
containers could be loaded onto a ship. The fact that shippers agreed to such
contracts says a lot about relative power on the waterfront at that time.
The book is not only about the shipping container, it is also about the impact
of transformative technologies on traditional communities and jobs and it is
about how new technologies can re-order the economic landscape.
The book is excellently arranged and progresses through pre-container work
practices on the docks, early experiments with containers, the struggles with
unions, standard setting, development of dedicated container ports, the frenzy
of ship building and resultant collapses and so on.
I was pleased to see virtually no padding in the book. Quite a few books of this
genre don't really have enough material to fill a book, so they are padded out
with marginally relevant background text.
Disappointingly, there are no photos or diagrams in the book. I wanted to see
diagrams of the controversial "corner castings" that took up much time in
standard setting meetings. I would also have liked to see photos of some of the
historic early containers, cranes and ships - and waterfront life and work
before containerisation.
I loved this book. I strongly recommend the book to readers interested in the
popular genre of books on commonplace "objects" such as the shipping container.
Those working in the shipping, transport and logistics industries may have never
given a thought to the history of such a basic tool of their professions. They
will also enjoy reading about its history.
Read more
9 people found this helpful
Report
Alice Friedemann
3.0 out of 5 stars How shipping containers shortened the life span of
petrochemical-civilization
Reviewed in the United States on 28 February 2008
Verified Purchase
Mark Levinson has written a book that shows how containers made global trade
possible. In the preface of the paperback edition, he notes other aspects of
containerization he became aware of later, such as the potential for containers
to harbor atomic weapons, how they've become homes, and so on.
To me, what Levinson leaves out is how this global distribution system will make
it very difficult to go back to local production as energy declines. He also
doesn't mention that containerization was the fastest way yet for capitalism to
loot the planet and strip Mother Earth down to her hard dry skin.
In 2005, roughly 18 million containers worldwide made over 200 million trips
(wikipedia). Containers come in many sizes, an average one is 40 feet long, 8
feet wide, and 8 feet high, the size of three 10 by 10 foot bedrooms. There are
1,300 foot-long ships now that can carry 7,250 of them.
It's mind boggling to think about how different the world is now. My
grandparents ate what was in season, an orange was a precious Christmas gift.
Today, the Japanese are eating Wyoming beef and we're driving Japanese cars.
Before containers were used to move cargo, port cities had long piers where
boxes and bales were moved by sweat and muscle onto ships. Longshoremen lived
within two miles of the docks in cheap housing. Now the piers are gone and the
only sweat comes from yuppies on treadmills in luxury apartments.
The cost of moving products by any means, whether truck, train, or ship, was
often so high most goods were made locally. Factories were often located near
ports to shorten the distance of getting products to ships.
The idea of containerization was around for a long time, and a few companies
experimented with doing this and failed for various reasons. It took Malcolm
McLean, the founder of Sea-Land, and standardization, to make containerization
really take off.
The cost of shipping goods, whether the container was on land or water, dropped
so drastically, that suddenly it made more economic sense for a factory to be
located wherever land, labor, and electricity were inexpensive. Millions of
high-paying factory jobs were lost as containerization made it possible for
factories to move overseas.
Also very important was being able to get goods cheaply to a container port. The
price of labor in Africa might even be less than China, but Africa has few
container ports, so factories don't move there.
Containerization was a major revolution - instead of endless loading and
unloading each box from trucks, to trains, to ships, moving cargo became so much
simpler and cheaper that the cost to move cargo was no longer a major
consideration. This made longer supply chains became possible. The example
Levinson gives in his book is how Barbie dolls are manufactured. America ships
China the cotton, molds, and pigments used to make Barbie, Japan the nylon hair,
and Taiwan the plastic in her body. This allows Japan to get really, really good
at nylon hair, and make it far cheaper.
The history of container ships contains a valuable lesson about why capitalism
has hastened the collapse of petro-civilization. After the energy crises of the
'70s, U. S. Lines built slow, energy efficient ships. Fuel had gone from 25% of
operating costs in 1972 to 50% in 1975. If oil had gone to $50 per barrel as
expected, U. S. Lines would have had the most profitable shipping line plying
the ocean. But oil plunged to $14 a barrel, and the bankruptcy was the largest
in history. Capitalism can only see profit this microsecond; it has no plans for
the future.
Wham! Imagine what will happen when the energy crisis strikes forever, and only
the military and politically connected have gasoline. It's great that container
ships carry cargo efficiently, and perhaps can be towed by giant kites
(experiments are underway). But what can be shipped with inland factories
scattered across several continents? Most containers carry intermediate parts,
not complete Barbies -- how will all the bits and pieces of Barbie find each
other?
With limited energy, it will be hard to go back in time, to rebuild long docks,
local factories, and all the other sail-based infrastructure. The Railroad
tracks feeding ships and inland regions have been ripped out, leaving the
majority of inland transport to highly inefficient gas-guzzling trucks that run
on rough roads and rusting bridges. Humpty Dumpty didn't just fall off the wall,
where we could have glued him back, he's been blown up, his ashes scattered
around the world, and there's not enough time or energy to put him back together
again.
Read more
8 people found this helpful
Report
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See more reviews
Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations
›
View or edit your browsing history
After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate
back to pages you are interested in.
Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations
›
View or edit your browsing history
After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate
back to pages you are interested in.
Back to top
Get to Know Us
* About Us
* Careers
* Corporate Information
* Press Releases
* Amazon Science
Make Money with Us
* Protect and build your brand
* Independently Publish with Us
* Sell on Amazon
* Fulfilment by Amazon
* Drive with Amazon Flex
* Advertise Your Products
* Associates Program
* Host an Amazon Hub
Let Us Help You
* COVID-19 and Amazon
* Your Account
* Your Orders
* Delivery Rates & Policies
* Returns & Replacements
* Manage Your Content and Devices
* Help
* Brazil
* Canada
* China
* France
* Germany
* India
* Italy
* Japan
* Mexico
* Netherlands
* Poland
* Singapore
* Spain
* Turkey
* United Arab Emirates
* United Kingdom
* United States
And don't forget:
* Amazon Advertising
* Amazon Web Services
* Goodreads
* Shopbop
* Conditions of Use & Sale
* Privacy Notice
* Interest-Based Ads Notice
© 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates